Posts by RGM81

On Saturday, June 22nd, Players Choice Collectibles in beautiful Kelowna, British Columbia, hosted their second ITG Cross Canada Tour event. Having previously had a very successful event in 2010, owners Dean Draginda and Jason Wobshall were excited to deliver the goods again to collectors in the Okanagan.

As with all other stops on the Cross Canada Tour, the main highlight of the day would be the series of specially-produced 1/1 memorabilia cards that feature the store’s logo on the front and back of the cards. Collectors who purchased a box of 2012-13 Between The Pipes would be More >

The face of the Canadiens? While the Habs have begun their 2012-13 season, P.K. Subban still awaits a new contract.

Throughout the summer of 2012, Montreal Canadiens fans waited with nervous anticipation for the announcement that the team had re-signed its star blueliner, P.K. Subban. With only a limited window of opportunity before a presumed lockout, other NHL clubs were racing to lock up their key on-ice personnel for as long as possible while the rules still permitted long-term back-diving contracts. Though it was a long-running staple of the Canadiens’ philosophy to avoid those types of larger More >

Hockey fans across the world are waking up today to a grim reality: for the second time in eight years, the National Hockey League has chosen to lock out its players in an attempt to restructure the collective bargaining agreement with the Players Association. For many fans, both younger ones and fans gained in the past seven seasons due to the game’s incredible growth, this is a new experience. For long-time fans, it is a stark reminder of the events of September 2004. We do not know how long this lockout scenario will endure; we may More >

With the 2011-12 season having concluded in the coronation of the Los Angeles Kings as Stanley Cup Champions, hockey fans can now turn their attention to the bustling activities of the off-season as they prepare for what will hopefully be a full 2012-13 campaign. This past year had numerous interesting storylines, twists, turns, and swerves, ranging from the calamity in Montreal to Tim Thomas standing up Barack Obama to the return and rapid fall from grace for Alexander Radulov. It will be a year that some fans try to forget while others look to cherish it More >

It feels like such a long time ago that the fans of the Montreal Canadiens could feel a genuine and lasting sense of positivity about their beloved club. When the season began many trumpeted that the team was on the cusp of reaching the upper echelons of the National Hockey League. Buoyed by the faulty logic that the team “was just one goal away from knocking off the Bruins” and thus—in Maxwell Smart-esque “missed it by that much” fashion—in a great position to challenge the Bruins for supremacy in the Northeast Division, Canadiens fans entered the More >

The announcement of Montreal Canadiens’ head coach Jacques Martin being “relieved of his duties” reached me while I was at the monthly Halifax card show. Oddly enough, CTV Halifax news anchor Steve Murphy (himself a collector) was the one that broke the news to the hall, having received the information on his Blackberry – word spread quickly and when it reached me I was relieved and happy. Martin’s philosophy of defence first had become stifling of the Canadiens’ skill and talent, and it was apparent on some game nights that he had lost the confidence of More >